# 2000–01 Euroleague

The 2000–01 Euroleague was the inaugural basketball season of the EuroLeague, under ULEB and its newly formed Euroleague Basketball Company authority. Overall it was the 44th season of the premier competition for European men's professional basketball clubs overall. Initially it was not recognised or sanctioned by FIBA and considered a breakaway competition. It started on October 16, 2000, with a regular season game between hosts Real Madrid Teka and Olympiacos, which was held at the Raimundo Saporta Pavilion, in Madrid, Spain, and it ended with the last championship finals game on May 10, 2001, which was held at the PalaMalaguti arena, in Bologna, Italy.
This season did not feature all of the top-tier level European club basketball teams, as some of them opted to compete in the 2000–01 FIBA SuproLeague competition instead, after the row erupted between the previous EuroLeague governing body, FIBA, and the newly established Euroleague Basketball Company. It was the first time in European basketball that several clubs did not qualify to a European competition based on performance, but instead wild cards were given. Top clubs also signed licences with the right to participate in upcoming seasons regardless of their domestic league ranking.
A total of 24 teams competed for the EuroLeague title, which was ultimately won by Kinder Bologna. Dejan Tomašević was the EuroLeague Regular season MVP, and Manu Ginóbili was the EuroLeague Finals MVP.

## European Champions' Cup teams divided

The FIBA European Champions' Cup was originally established by FIBA and it operated under its umbrella from 1958 until the summer of 2000, concluding with the 1999–2000 season. Euroleague Basketball Company was created by ULEB clubs in 2000. At the time the leagues of ULEB were Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, England and Switzerland. However against the will of their domestic leagues clubs from Lithuania, Croatia, Russia, Israel and Slovenia opted for the Euroleague competition despite the fact that their leagues were not members of ULEB.
FIBA had never trademarked the "EuroLeague" name and had no legal recourse on the usage of that name, so they had to find a new name for their league. The following 2000–01 season started with two top European professional club basketball competitions: FIBA SuproLeague (renamed from the FIBA EuroLeague) and Euroleague.
Top clubs were split between the two leagues: Panathinaikos, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow, and Efes Pilsen stayed with FIBA, while Olympiacos, Kinder Bologna, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Tau Cerámica, and Benetton Treviso joined Euroleague Basketball. Lugano Tigers the Swiss champions were the last team to join the ULEB side and enter the competition.

## Rules, format changes and dates

On 11 July 2000 in Thessaloniki during the ULEB Assembly format changes and dates were set for the new competition The Official List of the teams will include a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 players. Ten players will be allowed on the bench while 2 USA players per team are permitted. There was no Final Four but a best of three series in the Final.
Andrea Bassani (ex-General Manager of the Italian League) was appointed in the Assembly as the Manager of Marketing and Media of the Euroleague.

### Referees

Kostas Rigas was elected commissioner. Three referees will officiate every Euroleague game. The team of officials will be made up of 45 referees who have signed guaranteed contracts for three years with no age restriction. However FIBA did not allow them to officiate in their domestic leagues in 2000-01.

### Dates

Games will be played on Thursdays, with the possibility of moving them forward to Wednesday when necessary.
* Regular season: 19 October 2000 to 8 January 2001
* Play-offs 1/8 finals- 1,8,15 February 2001
* Play-offs ¼ finals: 22 Feb, 1, 8 March 2001
* Semi-finals: 27, 29 March, 3, 5, 12 April 2001
* Finals: 17, 19 April, 1, 3, 10 May 2001

## Team allocation

A total of 24 teams from 14 countries participate in the competition.

### Distribution

The table below shows the default access list.
| | Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round |
| Regular season (24 teams) | 4 best-placed teams from: Greece Italy Spain 2 best-placed teams from Croatia 1 best-placed teams from: Belgium Germany Great Britain Lithuania Portugal Slovenia Switzerland Yugoslavia 2 Wild cards | |
| Playoffs (16 teams) | | 4 group winners from the regular season 4 group runners-up from the regular season 4 group third-placed teams from the regular season 4 group fourth-placed teams from the regular season |
The competition culminated in a best 3 out of 5 playoff series.

### Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round
* 1st, 2nd, etc.: League position after Playoffs
* WC: Wild card
Regular season :
| PAOK (2nd) | Kinder Bologna (3rd) | Cibona VIP (1st) | Žalgiris (2nd) |
| Olympiacos (3rd) | Müller Verona (4th) | Zadar (2nd) | Ovarense Aerosoles (1st) |
| AEK (4th) | Real Madrid Teka (1st) | Spirou Charleroi (4th) | Saint Petersburg Lions (WC) |
| Peristeri (5th) | FC Barcelona (2nd) | Opel Skyliners (3rd) | Union Olimpija (3rd) |
| Paf Wennington Bologna (1st) | Adecco Estudiantes (3rd) | Haribo London Towers (1st) | Lugano Snakes (1st) |
| Benetton Treviso (2nd) | Tau Cerámica (4th) | Hapoel Jerusalem (WC) | Budućnost (1st) |

## Regular season

The first phase was a regular season, in which the competing teams were drawn into four groups, each containing six teams. Each team played every other team in its group at home and away, resulting in 10 games for each team in the first stage. The top 4 teams in each group advanced to the next round, The Top 16. The complete list of tiebreakers is provided in the lead-in to the Regular Season results.
If one or more clubs were level on won-lost record, tiebreakers were applied in the following order:
* Head-to-head record in matches between the tied clubs
* Overall point difference in games between the tied clubs
* Overall point difference in all group matches (first tiebreaker if tied clubs were not in the same group)
* Points scored in all group matches
* Sum of quotients of points scored and points allowed in each group match

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | PAF | PER | ZAL | EST | LUG | ZAD |
| 1 | Paf Wennington Bologna | 10 | 8 | 2 | 812 | 760 | +52 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 71–69 | 91–85 | 81–72 | 81–66 | 81–77 |
| 2 | Peristeri | 10 | 7 | 3 | 841 | 786 | +55 | Advance to Playoffs | 83–70 | — | 74–92 | 91–81 | 85–68 | 92–73 |
| 3 | Žalgiris | 10 | 6 | 4 | 866 | 816 | +50 | Advance to Playoffs | 73–56 | 86–73 | — | 77–80 | 105–89 | 97–85 |
| 4 | Adecco Estudiantes | 10 | 4 | 6 | 820 | 821 | −1 | Advance to Playoffs | 76–90 | 86–91 | 87–77 | — | 97–76 | 93–81 |
| 5 | Lugano Snakes | 10 | 3 | 7 | 777 | 914 | −137 | | 72–100 | 80–91 | 95–87 | 77–76 | — | 75–74 |
| 6 | Zadar | 10 | 2 | 8 | 840 | 859 | −19 | | 87–91 | 79–92 | 86–87 | 80–72 | 118–79 | — |
Source: Euroleague

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | KIN | AEK | TAU | CIB | SPL | SPI |
| 1 | Kinder Bologna | 10 | 9 | 1 | 835 | 734 | +101 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 81–66 | 76–73 | 106–88 | 84–78 | 106–87 |
| 2 | AEK | 10 | 8 | 2 | 805 | 746 | +59 | Advance to Playoffs | 78–77 | — | 64–52 | 83–75 | 84–73 | 97–73 |
| 3 | Tau Cerámica | 10 | 6 | 4 | 749 | 700 | +49 | Advance to Playoffs | 59–65 | 85–65 | — | 92–66 | 97–88 | 76–64 |
| 4 | Cibona | 10 | 3 | 7 | 773 | 832 | −59 | Advance to Playoffs | 69–74 | 72–81 | 62–60 | — | 75–70 | 85–70 |
| 5 | Saint Petersburg Lions | 10 | 2 | 8 | 778 | 840 | −62 | | 78–82 | 69–90 | 79–81 | 92–90 | — | 83–77 |
| 6 | Spirou Charleroi | 10 | 2 | 8 | 769 | 857 | −88 | | 58–80 | 89–97 | 71–74 | 100–91 | 80–68 | — |
Source: Euroleague

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | OLY | RMB | UOL | BEN | JER | OVA |
| 1 | Olympiacos | 10 | 7 | 3 | 861 | 738 | +123 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 91–84 | 82–70 | 82–73 | 102–69 | 101–67 |
| 2 | Real Madrid Teka | 10 | 7 | 3 | 859 | 789 | +70 | Advance to Playoffs | 75–73 | — | 82–70 | 64–75 | 104–64 | 116–94 |
| 3 | Union Olimpija | 10 | 7 | 3 | 823 | 752 | +71 | Advance to Playoffs | 69–73 | 88–79 | — | 78–74 | 95–68 | 102–79 |
| 4 | Benetton Treviso | 10 | 6 | 4 | 847 | 777 | +70 | Advance to Playoffs | 95–87 | 87–88 | 69–71 | — | 78–71 | 106–81 |
| 5 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 10 | 3 | 7 | 784 | 881 | −97 | | 83–70 | 74–87 | 76–88 | 79–104 | — | 106–71 |
| 6 | Ovarense Aerosoles | 10 | 0 | 10 | 746 | 983 | −237 | | 53–100 | 73–80 | 70–92 | 76–86 | 82–94 | — |
Source: Euroleague

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | FCB | PAO | POD | VER | LON | SKY |
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 10 | 8 | 2 | 856 | 757 | +99 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 58–67 | 92–75 | 96–84 | 82–76 | 86–60 |
| 2 | PAOK | 10 | 7 | 3 | 846 | 773 | +73 | Advance to Playoffs | 91–102 | — | 89–72 | 97–94 | 70–58 | 100–70 |
| 3 | Budućnost | 10 | 7 | 3 | 844 | 819 | +25 | Advance to Playoffs | 77–85 | 83–71 | — | 77–73 | 101–83 | 79–73 |
| 4 | Müller Verona | 10 | 6 | 4 | 920 | 854 | +66 | Advance to Playoffs | 94–90 | 102–88 | 86–91 | — | 102–76 | 90–70 |
| 5 | Haribo London Towers | 10 | 1 | 9 | 775 | 878 | −103 | | 82–97 | 61–93 | 88–95 | 89–98 | — | 86–61 |
| 6 | Opel Skyliners | 10 | 1 | 9 | 696 | 856 | −160 | | 51–68 | 73–80 | 79–94 | 80–97 | 79–76 | — |
Source: Euroleague

## Playoffs
### Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding, the numbers to the right indicate the result of games including result in bold of the team that won in that game, and the numbers furthest to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round.
| First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | QuarterFinal | QuarterFinal | QuarterFinal | QuarterFinal | QuarterFinal | QuarterFinal | SemiFinal | SemiFinal | SemiFinal | SemiFinal | SemiFinal | SemiFinal | | | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | Paf Bologna | 76 | 75 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| B4 | Cibona | 64 | 74 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| B4 | Cibona | 64 | 74 | | 0 | A1 | Paf Bologna | 74 | 57 | 88 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | C2 | Real Madrid Teka | 68 | 88 | 70 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Real Madrid Teka | 91 | 76 | | 2 | C2 | Real Madrid Teka | 68 | 88 | 70 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| D3 | Budućnost | 63 | 62 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| D3 | Budućnost | 63 | 62 | | 0 | | | | | | | B1 | Kinder Bologna | 103 | 92 | 74 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | A1 | Paf Bologna | 76 | 84 | 70 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| B1 | Kinder Bologna | 113 | 85 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | A1 | Paf Bologna | 76 | 84 | 70 | | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Adecco Estudiantes | 70 | 80 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Adecco Estudiantes | 70 | 80 | | 0 | B1 | Kinder Bologna | 80 | 81 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | C3 | Union Olimpija | 79 | 79 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| D2 | PAOK | 75 | 77 | 69 | 1 | C3 | Union Olimpija | 79 | 79 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Union Olimpija | 64 | 85 | 73 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Union Olimpija | 64 | 85 | 73 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | B1 | Kinder Bologna | 65 | 94 | 80 | 79 | 82 | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | B3 | Tau Cerámica | 78 | 73 | 60 | 96 | 74 | 2 |
| C1 | Olympiacos | 94 | 96 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | B3 | Tau Cerámica | 78 | 73 | 60 | 96 | 74 | 2 |
| D4 | Müller Verona | 92 | 84 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| D4 | Müller Verona | 92 | 84 | | 0 | C1 | Olympiacos | 72 | 76 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | B3 | Tau Cerámica | 78 | 98 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Peristeri | 79 | 68 | | 0 | B3 | Tau Cerámica | 78 | 98 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| B3 | Tau Cerámica | 81 | 81 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| B3 | Tau Cerámica | 81 | 81 | | 2 | | | | | | | B2 | AEK | 67 | 65 | 62 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | B3 | Tau Cerámica | 70 | 90 | 76 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| D1 | FC Barcelona | 85 | 82 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | B3 | Tau Cerámica | 70 | 90 | 76 | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Benetton Treviso | 86 | 99 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Benetton Treviso | 86 | 99 | | 2 | B2 | AEK | 97 | 74 | 71 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | C4 | Benetton Treviso | 89 | 90 | 56 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| B2 | AEK | 69 | 73 | | 2 | C4 | Benetton Treviso | 89 | 90 | 56 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Žalgiris | 60 | 71 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### First Round

In a best-of-three series the remaining 16 teams were placed against each other. The games were held between the 31st of January and the 14th of February, 2001, with the top 8 teams advancing to the Playoffs.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg |
| Paf Bologna | 2–0 | Cibona | 76–64 | 75–74 | |
| Kinder Bologna | 2–0 | Adecco Estudiantes | 113–70 | 85–80 | |
| Peristeri | 0–2 | Tau Cerámica | 79–81 | 68–81 | |
| AEK | 2–0 | Žalgiris | 69–60 | 73–71 | |
| Olympiacos | 2–0 | Müller Verona | 94–92 | 96–84 | |
| FC Barcelona | 0–2 | Benetton Treviso | 85–86 | 82–99 | |
| Real Madrid Teka | 2–0 | Budućnost | 91–63 | 76–62 | |
| PAOK | 1–2 | Union Olimpija | 75–64 | 77–85 | 69–73 |

### Quarterfinals

In a best-of-three series the remaining eight teams were placed against each other. The games were held between 21 February and 7 March 2001, with the top 4 teams advancing to the semifinals.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg |
| Paf Bologna | 2–1 | Real Madrid Teka | 74–68 | 57–88 | 88–70 |
| Kinder Bologna | 2–0 | Union Olimpija | 80–79 | 81–79 | |
| Olympiacos | 0–2 | Tau Cerámica | 72–78 | 76–98 | |
| AEK | 2–1 | Benetton Treviso | 97–89 | 74–90 | 71–56 |

### Semifinals

In a best-of-five series the remaining four teams were placed against each other. The games were held between the 27th of March and the 7th of April, 2001.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg | 4th leg | 5th leg |
| Kinder Bologna | 3–0 | Paf Wennington Bologna | 103–76 | 92–84 | 74–70 | | |
| AEK | 0–3 | Tau Cerámica | 65–90* | 67–70 | 62–76 | | |
* Note:The game was replayed between the second and the third game. AEK won the originally game 75-74 after overtime. Dimos Dikoudis scored the winning basket into appears. After Tau's appeal, ULEB's judge decided the replay of the game.

### Finals

The culminating stage of the Euroleague season, the two remaining teams that won the semifinal series played each other in a best-of-five series.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg | 4th leg | 5th leg |
| Kinder Bologna | 3–2 | Tau Cerámica | 65–78 | 94–73 | 80–60 | 79–96 | 82–74 |
* 2000–01 Euroleague Champions
* Kinder Bologna 2nd Title

## Awards
### Top Scorer

| Player | Team |
| Alphonso Ford | Peristeri |

### Regular Season MVP

| Player | Team |
| Dejan Tomašević | Budućnost |

### Finals MVP

| Player | Team |
| Manu Ginóbili | Kinder Bologna |

### Finals Top Scorer

| Player | Team |
| Manu Ginóbili | Kinder Bologna |
| Elmer Bennett | Tau Cerámica |
| Victor Alexander | Tau Cerámica |

### All-Euroleague First Team

| Player | Team |
| Louis Bullock | Müller Verona |
| Alphonso Ford | Peristeri |
| Derrick Hamilton | Saint Petersburg Lions |
| Gregor Fučka | Paf Wennington Bologna |
| Dejan Tomašević | Budućnost |

### All-Euroleague Second Team

| Player | Team |
| Jemeil Rich | Lugano Snakes |
| Panagiotis Liadelis | PAOK |
| Pau Gasol | FC Barcelona |
| Ioannis Giannoulis | PAOK |
| Rashard Griffith | Kinder Bologna |

### Round MVP
#### Regular season

| Week | Player | Team | PIR |
| 1 | Panagiotis Liadelis | PAOK | 42 |
| 2 | Dejan Tomašević | Budućnost | 34 |
| 2 | Gianluca Basile | Paf Wennington Bologna | 34 |
| 3 | Milenko Topić | Budućnost | 39 |
| 4 | Dejan Tomašević (2) | Budućnost | 42 |
| 5 | Derrick Hamilton | St. Petersburg Lions | 38 |
| 6 | Darko Krunić | Zadar | 39 |
| 7 | Gregor Fučka | Paf Wennington Bologna | 42 |
| 8 | Kebu Stewart | Hapoel Jerusalem | 47 |
| 9 | Derrick Hamilton (2) | St. Petersburg Lions | 40 |
| 10 | Marcelo Nicola | Benetton Treviso | 36 |

#### Playoffs

| Game | Player | Team | PIR |
| 8thF G1 | Alphonso Ford | Peristeri | 45 |
| 8thF G2 | Dejan Tomašević (3) | Budućnost | 34 |
| 8thF G2 | Dino Rađja | Olympiakos | 34 |
| 8thF G2 | Riccardo Pittis | Benetton Treviso | 34 |
| 8thF G3 | Angelos Koronios | PAOK | 20 |
| 8thF G3 | Emilio Kovačić | Union Olimpija | 20 |
| 4F G1 | Gregor Fučka (2) | Paf Wennington Bologna | 43 |
| 4F G2 | Rashard Griffith | Kinder Bologna | 32 |
| 4F G3 | Carlton Myers | Paf Wennington Bologna | 45 |
| SF G1 | Saulius Štombergas | Tau Cerámica | 43 |
| SF G2 | Elmer Bennett | Tau Cerámica | 33 |
| SF G3 | Fabricio Oberto | Tau Cerámica | 25 |
| Final G1 | Victor Alexander | Tau Cerámica | 32 |
| Final G2 | Antoine Rigaudeau | Kinder Bologna | 21 |
| Final G3 | Manu Ginóbili | Kinder Bologna | 31 |
| Final G4 | Elmer Bennett (2) | Tau Cerámica | 28 |
| Final G5 | Rashard Griffith (2) | Kinder Bologna | 25 |

## Individual statistics
### Rating

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Rating | PIR |
| 1. | Dejan Tomašević | Budućnost | 12 | 371 | 30.92 |
| 2. | Derrick Hamilton | Saint Petersburg Lions | 10 | 283 | 28.30 |
| 3. | Alphonso Ford | Peristeri | 12 | 305 | 25.42 |

### Points

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Points | PPG |
| 1. | Alphonso Ford | Peristeri | 12 | 312 | 26.00 |
| 2. | Dejan Tomašević | Budućnost | 12 | 275 | 22.92 |
| 3. | Panagiotis Liadelis | PAOK | 13 | 295 | 22.69 |

### Rebounds

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Rebounds | RPG |
| 1. | Dejan Tomašević | Budućnost | 12 | 138 | 11.50 |
| 2. | Dino Rađa | Olympiacos | 14 | 137 | 9.79 |
| 3. | Ron Ellis | Region Wallone Spirou | 10 | 96 | 9.60 |

### Assists

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Assists | APG |
| 1. | Ivica Marić | Zadar | 10 | 59 | 5.90 |
| 2. | Elmer Bennett | Tau Cerámica | 22 | 120 | 5.45 |
| 3. | Riccardo Pittis | Benetton Treviso | 14 | 54 | 3.86 |

### Other statistics

| Category | Player | Team | Games | Average |
| Steals | Ivica Marić | Zadar | 10 | 3.70 |
| Steals | Jemeil Rich | Lugano Snakes | 10 | 3.70 |
| Blocks | Grigorij Khizhnyak | Žalgiris | 12 | 3.17 |
| Turnovers | Sergei Bazarevich | Saint Petersburg Lions | 10 | 4.50 |
| Fouls drawn | Panagiotis Liadelis | PAOK | 13 | 7.08 |
| Minutes | Derrick Hamilton | Saint Petersburg Lions | 10 | 38:35 |
| 2P% | Stéphane Risacher | Olympiacos | 14 | 73.7% |
| 3P% | Jorge Racca | PAOK | 13 | 59.3% |
| FT% | Henry Williams | Müller Verona | 12 | 94.7% |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| PIR | Kebu Stewart | Hapoel Jerusalem | 47 |
| Points | Carlton Myers | Paf Wennington Bologna | 41 |
| Points | Alphonso Ford | Peristeri | 41 |
| Rebounds | Victor Alexander | Tau Cerámica | 19 |
| Assists | Elmer Bennett | Tau Cerámica | 13 |
| Steals | Manu Ginóbili | Kinder Bologna | 7 |
| Steals | Bojan Bakić | Budućnost | 7 |
| Blocks | Stojan Vranković | Paf Wennington Bologna | 10 |
| Three pointers | Saulius Štombergas | Tau Cerámica | 9 |
| Turnovers | Sergei Bazarevich | Saint Petersburg Lions | 11 |

## Aftermath

In May 2001, Europe had two continental champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv of the FIBA SuproLeague and Kinder Bologna of Euroleague Basketball Company's EuroLeague. The leaders of both organizations realized the need to come up with a new single competition. Negotiating from the position of strength ULEB dictated proceedings, and FIBA essentially had no choice but to agree to their terms. As a result, the EuroLeague was fully integrated under Euroleague Basketball Company's umbrella, and teams that competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season joined it as well. It is today officially admitted that European basketball had two champions that year, Maccabi of the FIBA SuproLeague and Kinder Bologna of the Euroleague Basketball Company's EuroLeague.
A year later, Euroleague Basketball Company and FIBA decided that Euroleague Basketball's EuroLeague competition would be the main basketball tournament on the continent, to be played between the top level teams of Europe. FIBA Europe would also organize a European league for third-tier level teams, known as the FIBA Europe League competition, while Euroleague Basketball would also organize its own second-tier level league, combining FIBA's long-time Korać Cup and Saporta Cup competitions into one new competition, the EuroCup. In 2005, Euroleague Basketball and FIBA decided to cooperate with each other, and did so jointly until 2016.
In essence, the authority in European professional basketball was divided over club-country lines. FIBA stayed in charge of national team competitions (like the FIBA EuroBasket, the FIBA World Cup, and the Summer Olympics), while Euroleague Basketball took over the European professional club competitions. From that point on, FIBA's Korać Cup and Saporta Cup competitions lasted only one more season before folding and merged to the FIBA Europe Champions Cup in 2002 which was when Euroleague Basketball launched the ULEB Cup.